


Mood Shift

by StagsInSilence



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 09:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13568025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StagsInSilence/pseuds/StagsInSilence
Summary: On an assignment out of state, Zeller and Price think they're funny. Will Graham does not agree.





	Mood Shift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peanutbutterpizza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanutbutterpizza/gifts).



> This piece is a gift for my friend, [Pixie](https://twitter.com/PixieCannibal). Hope you like it, darlin'.

Will glared at the hotel mattress, the scratchy floral print of the covers already promised a nigh of sleep not worth having. But for once, it was not the condition of the bed that bothered him, but the size of it.

“I would not call this first class accommodations,” Hannibal mused, scooting past Will so as not to dislodge him from his place – although greatly in the way. “Although, on the other hand, I have dealt with far worse in my youth.”

“This has to be the lab’s idea of a joke,” Will said, not at all listening to Hannibal. “No way is a place like this booked solid.” He angrily fidgeted with his glasses before turning on his heel to storm out. “I’m going to ask again at the front desk.”

A strong yet gentle hand lay on his shoulder and Will prickled at the touch even as he refrained from shrugging it off. “There is no point in that, Will. Should this truly be a practical joke, it would only encourage them in the future. Acting as though nothing happened usually tends to make such behaviours go away.”

Will raised an eyebrow as he looked over his shoulder at the other man, thoroughly unimpressed. “And is that your professional or personal opinion, doctor?”

A wry smile spread across Hannibal’s lips, “Purely professional, Will. To speak from experience would be a truly different story.”

“What kind of a story?”

Hannibal only smiled as his hand dropped from Will’s shoulder and he walked back into the room. He picked up his suitcase and dropped in on the left side of the queen-sized bed. He didn’t look at Will as he spoke, “A story for a time where Jack is not across the hall. Speaking of, we should best meet him in the parking lot as requested.”

Will made a small noise of agreement in his throat, but was also intrigued at the smallest of teases into the life of a young Hannibal Lecter. Shoving his own suitcase out of the way, Will lead the way back to the parking lot and over to where Jack stood with the others. As expected – and to confirm Will’s suspicions – Price and Zeller had rather smug looks on their faces, like they were trying to keep from laughing, while Beverly looked at him with an apologetic look.

“Whaddya think? Cozy little place, isn’t it?”

Of course this had been Brian’s master plan. Will fought to keep his eyes from rolling as he addressed Jack directly, “Where’s the crime scene?” The less time he had to spend in this motel, the better.

“Forty-five minutes up the road. And before you ask, this place was the closest one we could find this far in the middle of nowhere.”

“Wasn’t going to ask, Jack,” Will said, almost too quickly. “Let’s just get this over with so I can go home.”

Jack frowned slightly and glanced at Hannibal who simply shrugged. “Alright, let’s go.”

 

***

 

By the time they got back to the motel, it was – in Will’s opinion – far too early in the morning to be at all reasonable. Or worth bothering going to sleep at all. He had spread out all over the floor, the bed, the tables, and even the musty-smelling couch. Documents, photos, and scribbled notes of the scrambling mind of a special agent with an empathy disorder were scattered in a way only Will could truly make sense of… And even _he_ was beginning to get a headache from it all

He rubbed his temples, attempting to will away the foggy cloud of pain that was doing it’s best to hide any answers lurking somewhere in the mess of paper. He didn’t even notice the door had opened until the sound of the lock clicking made him jump.

“Quite the map you have there,” Hannibal smiled from the small patch of carpet by the door _not_ take over by Will’s sprawling chaos.

Will rubbed at his eyes from his place on the floor, “Sorry… I didn’t notice you leave.”

“I think it would be safe to assume you forgot about my prescience all together.”

“Sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for, Will.”

Flashing a quick glare at the floor, Will made an affirmative noise in hs throat as he rose to clear up some of his work.

“Have you found anything of value?” Hannibal asked as he looked over a particularly gruesome photo of a young man hanging upside down from the ceiling, held in place by meat hooks protruding through his feet.

“No,” Will almost groaned as he rubbed his hands over his face. It was easy to see the exhaustion and frustration in the way his body tensed, radiating stress.

“I recommend a break.”

“Not yet.”

Will moved to sit at the little table so as to continue glaring at his work, but Hannibal reached past him to stop the chair from being pulled out. “It would seem my turn to apologize, Will, as I must insist.”

In a rare moment of extended eye contact, Will gave Hannibal a childish look of annoyance that only made the psychiatrist grin in amusement. “I guess you’re right,” he grumbled and went to clear off the bed of photos and initial reports. The task took far longer than was probably necessary, however, Hannibal didn’t dare interfere with Will’s process. Instead, he watched with simple fascination as hands clumsy with exhaustion, fumbled to keep the order of the mind map in the condensed form of a pile. It was not until Will had stuffed it all into the nightstand that Hannibal approached the bed and sat on the corner diagonally from where Will perched on the edge of the mattress near the head.

“Something troubling is on your mind,” he said softly.

Will sighed, “Trouble _some_ is more like it.”

“Tell me.”

“No… It’s late. You should sleep. Let me clear off the sofa before you turn out the light.”

“Nonsense,” Hannibal said with a tone laced with disdain as he rose off the bed to come sit next to Will. “That _thing_ is hardly suitable to sit on, let alone to sleep.”

Will almost laughed, “You want me to share the bed with you?”

“I promise I won’t bite.”

“Believe me when I say that’s not my concern.”

Hannibal’s eyebrow quirked, “Are you truly that affected by the teasing of Agents Price and Zeller? There is nothing shameful of sharing a bed with another man, Will. Sexual preference has nothing to do with rest.”

“I _know_ that,” Will snapped, but reeled in his temper right away. “Sorry… I’m…”

Hannibal raised his hand, “Enough. Go get changed, Will. I do not recommend sleeping in such filth.”

The agent nodded as his nose wrinkled at the smell of dirt and sweat radiating from his shirt, rising from his place on the edge of the bed to change in the bathroom. Hannibal watched him go with a small smile on his face. This was a side of Will he had not become entirely acquainted with and he had to admit he was enjoying the company. When Will returned to the room, clad in his boxers and a t-shirt, Hannibal had also changed into his own sleepwear.

“Do you seriously sleep in a suit?”

Hannibal looked himself over at Will’s comment, his face betraying the hint of self-consciousness Will knew he meant to hide. “This is hardly a suit.”

Will quirked an eyebrow, a smile teasing at the corner of his mouth. Of course Hannibal would own one of those silky sleep sets with a lapel-like collar on them. “It’s a suit.”

With an air of indignation, Hannibal sat down on the bed. “Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind, Will? Or shall I save my prodding at you until our next conversation?”

Will sat down heavily beside the other man, back to his usual behaviour of avoiding eye contact. “Does it really matter?”

“Of course,” Hannibal replied. “It would seem that whatever it is will be affecting your sleep this evening and I can confirm even now that _that_ will not do either of us any good.”

Will breathed a skeptic’s chuckle and laced his fingers in his lap, his right forefinger picking at the skin of the knuckles on his left. “I’m… concerned…”

Hannibal remained quiet as Will carefully thought out his words. It took several long moments for him to speak again.

“Nevermind,” he said quietly, shaking his head and rising. “It can wait.”

Hannibal’s shoulders loosened as he watched Will pace before sitting on the musty couch. He cringed at the thought of the atrocities committed on the horrid piece of furniture, but kept those thoughts to himself as he said, “Will, I really cannot allow-“

Will raised a hand to cut him off and then pointed to the grim covered clock on the nightstand. “You were right about not getting much sleep tonight. It’s almost four.”

The nod Hannibal gave was curt, and it would be a blatantly obvious lie if he said he wasn’t a touch frustrated with Will’s current demeanor. “Good night, Will,” he said, getting into bed.

Will rose from the couch to turn the light off and in the darkness, Hannibal could still see the tense silhouette of a man at war with himself. It was a rare time where he felt protective of Will Graham and simply wanted to help, but allowed himself to close his eyes and find sleep in the darkness. Will would come to him when he was at his breaking point.

 

***

 

Hannibal didn’t know how long he had been asleep when he was woken by the whimpers of pain that vibrated the air around him. His noses were assaulted with the heavy stench of sweat as he returned to consciousness and quickly reached to turn on the side lamp as he sat. Blinking away the sudden light, Hannibal saw Will squirming awkwardly on the couch, he had not grabbed any blankets before falling asleep and now he writhed in a fit of night terrors and what appeared to be a cold from all of the sweat dripping from his body.

He crossed the room quickly, scratchy hotel blanket in hard, and draped it on Will. Hannibal carefully took a firm hold of Will’s shoulder and spoke his name clearly in an attempt to rouse him. At the third call of his name, Will woke with a start, but Hannibal held him in place to keep him from falling to the floor.

“You were having a nightmare,” Hannibal said. “Are you alright?”

It took Will a moment to register what was happening before he nodded. Hannibal repeated his question again and Will muttered a “Yeah” before carefully sitting up.

Hannibal’s hand was still on his shoulder and it remained there until Will repeated that he was okay. The psychiatrist went to the bathroom and returned with a glass of water in his hand. “Drink.”

Will took the glass, downed it in one swig, and shivered beneath the blanket as he pulled it tighter around his wet shoulders.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Hannibal asked. He was kneeling on the floor before Will, trying to catch a glimpse of his eyes.

Will shook his head. “No. I’m fine. Sorry I woke you up.”

Hannibal sighed. “That is not what concerns me, Will. You cannot be an effective asset of Jack’s if you refuse to take care of yourself.”

Will flashed him a glare, but it quickly faded. Exhaustion was taking the bite out of him.

“If you are certain you don’t require anything, I will return to bed.”

He flashed an apologetic look at Hannibal’s back as he watched the other man get back under the covers and turn off the light. In the dark once more, Will sat there, chilled beneath the thin, scratchy blanket for several long moments. When the silence of the room was only broken by Hannibal’s steady breathing, Will stood and approached the bed.

Hannibal stirred as the mattress suddenly dipped, but he remained still as Will settled next to him, still cocooned in the blanket. When Will stopped moving and his shaky breathing began to level out, Hannibal rolled over to face Will’s back. He could feel the other man shaking once again and reached over to rest a hand between his shoulder blades. Will stiffened, but didn’t move away, silently giving Hannibal permission to move closer. Which is exactly what he did, moving carefully in the dark to spoon Will beneath the stiff sheets of the hotel bed.

In Hannibal’s arms, Will felt… _safe_. That was the only word that came to mind as the warmth of Hannibal’s body soaked into his back and chased away the cold. For the first time in a long time, his muscles relaxed as the pain from being constantly tensed slowly drifted away as sleep claimed him once again.

Hannibal remained awake, holding Will close and wishing the horrid blanket didn’t separate them. But as Will relaxed and slowly drifted off to sleep, Hannibal experienced something he hadn’t since Misha was still alive.

 

 

F I N.


End file.
